Discovering Low-Cost/No-Cost Strategies for Reducing Energy Costs

DISCOVERING LOW-COST/NO-COST
STRATEGIES FOR REDUCING ENERGY
COSTS
Ralph W. Russell, II, CEM
President – eDiscoveri
Presented to IEEE Richmond Section
2 October 2014
“Helping Customers Discover Energy Solutions”

Energy Cost Issues
www.eDiscoveri.com 2

Keys to Energy Management
 Who is in charge of managing energy usage & cost?
 What is the cost of energy & what are the available rate
tariffs?
 When is energy is used?
 Where is energy used?
 Why is energy used?
 How much energy is used?
 Practice simple energy management techniques
 Reduce equipment run time
 Use more efficient equipment
 Shift load to off-peak period

Electricity Fundamentals
 Ohms Law
 Volts = Current x Resistance
 V = A x R
 Units
 Volts is in volts
 Current is in amps
 Resistance is in ohms
 Power
 P (watts) = A (amps) x V (volts)
 A (amps) = P (watts) / V (volts)
 KW
 W (watt) x 1,000 = KW
(kilowatt)
 Demand
 Rate at which energy is used
 KWH
 KW (kilowatt) x Time (hours)
= KWH (kilowatt – hour)
 Energy consumed over a
period of time
4

Terminology
 Cooling Degree Days (CDD)
 Cooling degree days
indicate how summer
weather affects building
cooling energy use.
 Heating Degree Days (HDD)
 Heating degree days
indicate how winter
weather affects building
heating energy use.
5

Definitions
 kW (kilowatt)
 kWh (kilowatt-hour)
 On-Peak
 CMD (Contract Minimum Demand)
 Riders

Electric Bill Components
Billing Determinants
 Rate Schedule
 Billing Period Dates
 Billing Days
 Off-Peak Usage (kWh)
 On-Peak Usage (kWh)
 Distribution Demand (kW)
 Off-Peak Demand (kW)
 On-Peak Demand (kW)
 rKVA

Bill Details Bill Details
 Distribution Service
 Basic Customer Charge
 Distribution Demand
 rKVA Demand
 Electricity Supply Service
 On-Peak Demand Charge
 Off-Peak Demand Charge
 Adjustment Charge
 Meter Behind Transformer
 On-Peak Energy Charge
 Off-Peak Energy Charge
 Fuel
 Rider B
 Rider BW
 Rider C1A and C2A
 Rider R
 Rider S
 Rider T1
 Rider W

Bill Details
 Sales and Use Surcharge
 Distribution Facilities
Charge
 Transmission Facilities
Charge
 State/Local Consumption
Tax
 Local Utility Tax

Low-Cost/No-Cost Strategies
for Reducing Energy Costs
 Rate Schedule
Change
 Tax Deductions &
Exemptions
 Utility Rebates
 Utility Contract
 Metering
 Billing Errors
 Demand Response
 Operational Changes
 Networking
 Walk-Through Energy
Audit

10 – Operational Changes
10

Operational Changes
 Turn it off
 Shift production to off-peak periods
 Use start time and stop time optimization to
minimize consumption
 Review daily demand graphs for
opportunities to peak shave or shift load
 Determine cost benefit of installing more
efficient lighting and motors

9 – Billing Errors

Billing Errors
 Common causes of billing errors:
 Metering errors
 Calculation errors
 Out of date rate schedules
 Miscommunications between internal
departments

8 – Rate Changes
www.eDiscoveri.com
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Rate Schedule Changes
 Explore & understand available rate
schedules from local utility company
(electricity, natural gas, fuel oil, propane,
water/sewer).
 Request rate comparison from utility or
energy consultant such as eDiscoveri.

GS-1, 2, 2T, 3 & 4
 GS-1 – 30 kW or less
 GS-2 – 30 kW – 500 kW
 GS-2T – 30 kW – 500 kW Time of Usage
 GS-3 – 500 kW or greater. Secondary Voltage
 GS-4 – 500 kW or greater. Primary Voltage

Dominion Virginia Power
Special Tariffs
 Schedule 6TS – Thermal Storage
 Schedule 10 – Large General Service
 Variable Pricing
 Calendar year divided into “A”, “B” and “C” days
 “A” days most expensive. Maximum of 28 “A”
days in any calendar year
 “B” days mid range
 “C” days least expensive. Minimum of 60 “C” days
in any calendar year
 Day classification found at +1 800 446 4877

Dominion Virginia Power
Riders
 Rider A – Fuel Charge Rider
 Rider B – Biomass Conversion
 Rider C1A – Peak-Shaving Increment Rider
 Rider C2 – Energy Efficiency Increment Rider
 Rider R – Bear Garden Generating Station
 Rider S – Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center
 Rider T1 – Transmission
 Rider W – Warren County Power Station
 Sales and Use Surchargewww.eDiscoveri.com 21

7 – Tax Exemptions &
Deductions
7
TAXES

Tax Deductions & Exemptions
 Tax Deductions & Incentives
 The U.S. Department of Energy DSIRETM (Database
of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency)
www.dsireusa.org
 Tax Exemptions
 Sales tax exemptions available in some areas for
state and municipal sales tax on energy.
 Sales tax refund ranging from 12 to 48 months
available in some areas.

6 – Utility Rebates

Utility Rebates
 Start your
investigation into
utility rebates at
www.dsireusa.org.
 After locating a
rebate, check the
utility’s website to
confirm its availability.
 Current programs from
one utility for
commercial and
industrial accounts
include:
 Energy Audit
 Duct Testing & Sealing
 Distributed Generation
 Lighting
 Window Film

5 – Utility Contract

Utility Contract
 Review Agreement for
Electric Service
(Contract) that most
commercial, industrial
and governmental
customers have with
the local electric utility.
 Review Contract for
adjustment of rate
schedule, Contract
Minimum Demand and
extra charges such as
facilities charges.

Metering
Primary Metering & Totalized Metering
 Combining all of the meters into one monthly
invoice.
 Reduction of the demand and demand cost
since most accounts don’t hit their daily peak
demands at the same time.
Sub-metering
 Customer owned metering to measure
energy consumption of specific equipment or
business areas.
www.eDiscoveri.com
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4 – Demand Response

Demand Response
 Demand Response (also known as load
response) is end-use customers reducing their
use of electricity in response to power grid
needs in return for a payment.
 End-use customers participate through
curtailment service providers.

3 – Alternative Financing

Alternative Financing Terms
 Power Purchase Agreement (PPA)
 Contract between two parties, one who generates
electricity for the purpose (the seller) and one who is
looking to purchase electricity (the buyer).
 Utility Energy Service Contract (UESC)
 Contracting vehicle that allows utilities to provide to
their Federal customers comprehensive energy and
water efficiency improvements and Demand-reduction
services.
 Energy Saving Performance Contract (ESPC)
 Allows Federal agencies to complete energy savings
projects without up-front capital costs and special
Congressional appropriations.
32

2 – Walk Through Energy
Audit

Walk-Through Energy Audit
 Identifies energy cost, consumption, use,
location and timing.
 Involves touring the facility and collecting
data that includes information on customer’s
site, operations, HVAC, processes, lighting,
envelope, refrigeration, and office
equipment.
 Establishes baseline of energy consumption
and cost to measure success of future energy
projects.

1 - Networking

Networking
 Talk to your peers inside and outside of your
company.
 Attend professional society meetings such as
IEEE, ASHRAE, and AEE.
 Participate in LinkedIn on-line communities
such as Association of Energy Engineers.
 Attend conferences.
 Develop a personal energy training plan.

Low-Cost/No-Cost Strategies
for Reducing Energy Costs
 Rate Schedule
Change
 Tax Deductions &
Exemptions
 Utility Rebates
 Utility Contract
 Metering
 Billing Errors
 Demand Response
 Operational Changes
 Networking
 Walk-Through Energy
Audit

Natural Gas
 Rebates
 Customer Incentive Programs
 Heat Recovery
 Solar Hot-Water
 Retro-Commissioning
 Control Systems
 Rate Choice
 Rate Comparisons
 Tax Exemptions

Fuel Oil
 Daily Prices
 Fixed Contracts
 Fill-Up during Summer and before Hurricane
Season
 Tax Exemptions

Water/Sewer
 Deduct/Exclusion Meter for applications such as
landscaping, manufacturing, etc.
 Reduce Strong Waste Water Surcharge
 Jet out lines that may be contaminated
 Replace grease traps
 Impervious Area Charge Incentive Programs
 Rain gardens
 Rain barrels
 Pervious paving
 Green Roofs
 Storm water reuse

Propane
 Fixed Negotiated Contract
 Compare Suppliers
 Tax Exemptions

About eDiscoveri
eDiscoveri's mission is
to help customers:
 Manage relationships
with electric utilities
 Increase operational
uptime through
improved electric
supply reliability
 Reduce energy costs

Electric Utility Liaison
eDiscoveri can help customers
reduce the amount of their staff time
associated with electric utility
interactions by:
 Assisting customers with managing
their relationships with electric
utilities
 Managing periodic meetings with
various utility departments
 Maintaining up to date utility
contact information
 Developing, maintaining and
implementing communications
channels to be used during
emergencies

Electric Supply Reliability
eDiscoveri can help customers improve
their electric supply reliability by:
 Maintaining a log of electric utility
disturbances and outages
 Reporting disturbances and outages
to utility on behalf of customers
 Managing communications between
utility and customer during electric
supply outage emergencies to
ensure minimal customer outage
time
 Preparing report outlining root
cause of outage and recommending
preventive and mitigation measures

Contact Us
Contact us for a free
consultation on how
we can help you
discover low-cost/no-cost
strategies for
energy cost reduction.
eDiscoveri
P. O. Box 29254
Henrico, VA 23242
+1 804 291 7667 Cell
rwrussell2@eDiscoveri.com
www.eDiscoveri.com

Discovering Low-Cost/No-Cost Strategies for Reducing Energy Costs

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